


Couldn't See The Forest For The Trees

by ButWhatIfThereWasChiley



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: (but it's just paper), Angst, Canon Compliant, Fluff, M/M, Some Humor, War, don't think there's angst but there probably is so, sorry who's Tyler?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-23 07:25:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14929826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButWhatIfThereWasChiley/pseuds/ButWhatIfThereWasChiley
Summary: You know when you're dating your best friend but you don't realise it?





	1. Hiding In Plain Sight

**Author's Note:**

> I felt the world needed more Chiley, so here you go

“Thou jousting skills are quite unimpressive,” Ivan quipped when he managed to disarm Chase, his Dino Saber dropping to the floor with a metallic clang.

Chase frowned. “Hey! I’m doing my best. Don’t be a dick about it.” Chase had, begrudgingly, agreed to spar with Ivan and was really regretting his decision. Whilst Ivan was certainly gifted at swordplay, he wasn’t exactly the best teacher, especially to someone as novice as Chase. The past hour had consisted of nothing but the knight besting him and then gloating about it afterwards. Not the most encouraging method.

“You’ve clearly been spending too much time with your boyfriend and not enough time training,” Kendall scolded as she continued to scan through the series of documents on the table in front of her.

Chase cocked an eyebrow at her. “My boyfriend?”

“Riley,” both of them said at the same time.

Chase blinked. “What are you guys talking about? We’re not dating. We’re just friends. And besides, most of the time we’re training when we’re together.” This earned a laugh from Kendall.

“Yeah, and how often do you do that?” Shelby questioned, appearing from behind a computer monitor.

Chase jolted in surprise. “I mean… most days. How long have you been standing there?”

Shelby smirked. “If you hadn’t been so distracted you would’ve noticed,” she said smugly as she brushed past Chase on her way out.

Ivan walked over to Chase, handing him back his Dino Saber. With one hand on Chase’s shoulder, he asked, “You spend the majority of your time thinking about Riley, yes?”

“What?! Ivan, what are –”

“Do you?” Ivan persisted, raising an eyebrow.

“Well… yeah, I suppose. He is my best friend,” Chase admitted with a shrug.

Kendall laughed. “That’s all the answer we need,” she said as she shot Ivan a pleased look.

Right on cue, Riley slid into the base as everyone pretended to get back to their work. As Riley walked over to him, Chase smiled, his conversation with Ivan already long forgotten.

“Hey Riley,” Chase said.

“Hey,” Riley smiled back, “I was just wondering if you wanted to go for a coffee later.”

“Like instead of training?” Chase asked with a cheeky smile.

“As if,” Riley replied, rolling his eyes. “After training.”

Chase looked over Riley’s shoulder to see Kendall looking up at the pair before quickly refocusing her attention on the papers in front of her. He quickly became aware that their conversation was the focus of everyone in the room. He usually loved attention, but for some reason this time it was making him feel uneasy, so he looked back to Riley, giving him a small smile before replying, “Yeah, sure. I’ll see you after your shift.”

“Cool,” Riley said with a small nod, before making his way out of the base.

“Sounds like a date,” Ivan said mockingly whilst trying to suppress his laughter. Kendall looked to be doing the same as she made her way to a different part of the cave.

“Shut up,” Chase laughed as he scrunched up a piece of paper and threw it at Ivan, hitting him dead centre in the face. Ivan’s face contorted in shock as he looked down at the small ball of paper. Clearly this was a new experience for him. Chase took full advantage of this, hurling a barrage of paper balls in his direction.

It didn’t take Ivan long to retaliate. Before long, there was an all-out war.

In search of more ammo, Chase darted over to the table where Kendall had been working, using it as shelter from the oncoming volleys of paper. Reaching a hand up to grab more paper off the table, he felt a sudden pain in his hand. He slowly rose to see a very angry Kendall staring back at him in pure rage.

Putting down the book she had just smacked Chase’s hand with, she slowly hissed, “Clear this up. Now.”

Chase began to apologise, but Kendall gave him a look that clearly showed that she didn’t want to hear it, before briskly strutting out of the base, leaving behind a terrified Chase and a smug Ivan.

 

\----

 

Kendall entered the base to see Riley and Chase already there, bickering playfully with each other. “Glad to see you two are having fun instead of training,” she commented idly as she walked past.

Chase smiled sheepishly. “I was just heading out, anyway,” he said, grabbing his skateboard as he headed over to the exit. “Later, Riley.”

“Bye,” Riley responded, sighing tiredly as soon as Chase was out of his sight.

“Everything okay?” Kendall asked knowingly.

“That depends,” Riley responded after a second’s hesitation. He checked behind him to make sure that Chase was definitely gone, and then asked, “Miss Morgan… have you ever been in love before?”

Kendall found herself thinking of Ivan, then forced herself to shrug nonchalantly. “No, of course not. Why?”

“I’ve started having these… strange thoughts lately,” Riley explained hesitantly. “I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“What kind of thoughts?” Kendall frowned.

“Like…” Riley paused thoughtfully. “I just want to be with him all the time. I’ll go out jogging and picture him being there with me, messing about on his skateboard and telling me to take a break because I work too hard.” He was smiling fondly by this point. “Or I’ll be waiting tables and suddenly I’ll remember that time he forgot to man the grill and accidentally started a fire.” He sighed. “I was so mad at him for that. He could’ve got seriously hurt.” He looked at Kendall, the confusion clear on his face. “What do I do? I’ve never felt like this before.”

“Why are you asking me?” Kendall sighed. “Why didn’t you go to Shelby, or Tyler?”

“I think with my head,” Riley explained, “and you do too. Shelby and Tyler are great, but they always go with their heart – and I feel like it’s not always that easy. I figured you would understand.”

“I can understand just fine, but I think they would be better at offering you advice,” Kendall said gently.

Riley sat down on the sofa nearby. “I don’t need advice. I – I need Chase to want to be with me, too,” he laughed in frustration. “Do you even think that’s possible?”

Kendall paused thoughtfully. “Well… maybe. You’d have to talk to him about it, but I definitely see some chemistry there. But whether Chase realises that or not, that isn’t up to me to say.”

Riley hummed, accepting the answer, even if it wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear. A glimmer of hope was better than nothing.

“You should talk to him,” Kendall said when Riley remained silent.

Riley shook his head dismissively. “Maybe later. Thanks for your advice, anyway, Miss Morgan.”

“Good luck, Riley,” Kendall said as Riley made his way towards the exit. “And, for what it’s worth, I think you two would be a lovely couple.”

Riley smiled sadly. “I think so too.”

 

\----

 

It was your average afternoon in Amber Beach; Riley stood in the cave staring down his arch-nemesis, the tennis ball machine. Chase was out on a date and the others were off fishing, meaning that Riley had some time to himself to work on his combat skills. He had just deflected a paperweight (something he hadn’t expected to be shot out of the machine) when Chase skateboarded into the base.

“How did it go?” Riley asked, tightly clutching his Dino Saber in his hand as he went to turn off the tennis ball machine. While he did care about Chase, he selfishly hoped that his date didn’t go well. Given his recent realisation, he didn’t know how well he would be able to cope with Chase getting seriously involved with someone.

“Crap,” Chase declared as he dropped his backpack on the workbench. He then flopped onto the sofa, groaning in frustration. “Why can I _never_ get a second date?”

“Hey,” Riley said worriedly, sitting down next to him. “I’m sure you’ll get one eventually. You just need to find the right person. Don’t let it get you down.” It was pretty routine by this point; Chase coming back after another failed date and looking to Riley for comfort. Riley was there for him, every time.

“This is pointless,” Chase complained. “I’m completely undateable.”

“No, you’re not,” Riley argued, decisively ignoring the fact that Chase had just invented a word. “You’re handsome; charming...” He trailed off uncertainly, aware that he could be about to cross a line in their friendship. “Behind that skater boy image, you really are a decent guy.”

“Yeah, right,” Chase scoffed, “as if you really believe that.”

“I do believe that,” Riley stated confidently.

“You don’t have to lie to me,” Chase said, turning his eyes away to stare at the wall.

“I’m not lying,” Riley protested.

“Riley, what sort of idiot is going to want to date a piece of shit like me?” Chase said with a roll of his eyes.

“I can think of one idiot,” Riley mumbled unconsciously under his breath.

Chase’s eyes snapped up to meet Riley’s, which were full of panic. Riley quickly stood up and blurted “I’m just going to – practice at home,” before hurrying out of the base.

“But – you don’t _have_ a tennis ball machine at home,” Chase called after him in confusion.

Riley rushed back inside, picked up his tennis ball machine and then made another speedy escape.

Chase sat there, too stunned to even follow after Riley as he tried to contemplate what had just happened. Truth be told, he wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about Riley, but he couldn’t ignore the feeling of hope blossoming in his chest.


	2. Pulling An All-Nighter

“How was the skateboard park?” Riley asked when Chase walked in. Things had been awkward with them for a few days after Riley’s slip of the tongue, but eventually they had moved on, silently agreeing not to mention it again. Chase wasn’t exactly sure where they stood and it was confusing, but at least he and Riley were back to talking like they did before.

“Not bad,” Chase answered with a grin. “The weather was great today.”

Riley smiled tightly, apparently nervous about something, not that Chase seemed to notice. “That’s good.”

“It was,” Chase nodded. He put his skateboard down on the workbench as he walked past – something that Kendall would undoubtedly scold him for later – and sat down on the sofa next to Riley. “What have you been up to today?”

“Just the usual,” Riley said, trying to act casual. “Training. Working. I video chatted my mom at the ranch, too – she says hi, by the way.”

Chase looked at him in surprise. “You’ve talked to her about me?”

Riley shrugged. “I’ve talked to her about all of you,” he explained, even if it was embellishing the truth slightly. Of course, he had told his mother about all of his new friends at Amber Beach, but he had definitely mentioned Chase more than the others. His mother obviously caught on too, asking Riley whether he’d developed a crush on this Chase boy. He didn’t know how to lie to her about it, but thankfully she was supportive.

“That – that makes sense, sure,” Chase agreed, although he was starting to feel a little uncomfortable with the conversation. “Is everything fine back home? You seem tense.”

“Yeah, things are fine. It’s just…” Riley said, trailing off. He gulped, thinking back to how his mother suggested that, if he really liked Chase so much, why didn’t he just ask him out? “Why haven’t you been on any more dates recently?” Riley asked, deciding to go straight to the point. It made more sense than skirting around the topic, after all. “I’m used to you going out with a different girl every day.”

“Well, things are different now, aren’t they?” Chase said casually, as if this wasn’t the first time that they were actually addressing whatever was going on between them.

“What do you mean by that?” Riley asked carefully, because he didn’t want to assume.

“You know what I mean, Riley,” Chase answered with a nervous grin, worrying that he was overstepping a boundary.

Riley could hear his heartbeat quickening. He took a deep breath. “Seeing as you’ve been having so much trouble getting dates lately, how about you let me take you out on one?” He kept his voice light and playful, hoping that if he was reading the situation wrong then Chase could still take it as a joke.

Chase didn’t take it as a joke. Instead, he said seriously, “I mean – if you want to.” He felt nervous about Riley’s response, although he couldn’t quite understand why. He had never been this nervous about asking someone on a date before. But for some reason… it was Riley, and it felt different.

Riley bit back a smile. “I do. How about tomorrow, we can go out for lunch? Presuming the world doesn’t get attacked in the meantime, of course.”

 

\----

 

Riley wished he hadn’t jinxed it.

He and Chase had been wandering around the park, arguing over whether to get hot dogs or doughnuts first – “You can’t have doughnuts before actual lunch, Chase,” Riley argued logically – when their communicators went off.

Now they were stood in front of a monster, trying desperately to finish it off so that they could get back to whatever remained of their date. But eventually they had to give up, calling it a day as the monster disappeared, leaving the Rangers exhausted and disheartened.

“I guess we’ll just have to go on that date some other time, huh?” Riley said to Chase with a small smile, once the others had left the base to get some rest. He seemed disappointed.

Chase was disappointed too. “Yeah, I guess so,” he mumbled. “Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, Chase grabbed his skateboard, hesitating as he nodded goodbye to Riley.

Riley understood where the awkwardness was coming from. It made him feel odd as well, having to say goodbye to Chase the same way he said goodbye to the other Rangers. He’d hoped that, by the end of today, things would have been different between them.

But he couldn’t force things to be different now; especially when there were much bigger things to focus on. Like defeating a monster before it hurt any innocent civilians.

So when Chase skateboarded out of the base, leaving Riley alone, Riley didn’t pack up his things and go home. Instead, he got out his Dino Saber and continued training.

 

\----

 

“You’ve been here all night,” Chase said to Riley a couple of days later, concern lacing his voice. “Don’t you need a break?”

It was nearing midnight, and everyone else had gone back home, but Riley was determined to stay at the base and keep training until he had everything mastered. It wasn’t a realistic goal, nor a healthy one, and Chase was worried.

“I don’t have time for a break,” Riley said, his voice steady like there was no room for argument. He deflected another two tennis balls with his Dino Saber as he spoke. “We have to defeat that monster before it defeats us. How can we do that if we’re not one hundred percent prepared?”

“You won’t be one hundred percent prepared if you’re exhausted,” Chase pointed out. He walked over to Riley and gently touched his shoulder, getting his attention. “You know this isn’t helping in the long run, mate. Everyone needs to relax every once in a while.” He then got hit in the arm by a tennis ball and he glared at the machine, muttering, “Can you turn that thing off?”

Riley sighed, but still he turned off the machine, looking back at Chase with a resigned expression on his face. “I don’t know how I can relax when there’s a monster on the loose. How are you so calm about this?”

“How aren’t you?” Chase retorted with a small smile. “This happens to us almost every week. You should be used to it now.”

“I should be _used_ to it?” Riley asked incredulously, clutching onto his Dino Saber even tighter.

Chase laughed. “Well… yeah, pretty much. You can’t let it get you down like this every time we get attacked. You’ll never be able to breathe easy or have fun.”

Riley put down his Dino Saber in defeat. “What’s your point, Chase?” he asked, frustrated.

“My point _is_ you need to relax a little, if you want to have the energy to fight when the monster returns,” Chase explained patiently. “What do you say we finally go on that date, eh? There’s a 24-hour McDonald’s only a few blocks from here – we can head over there, get some food, hang out.” He shrugged casually. “I know it’s not exactly romantic, but I doubt any proper restaurants will still be open at this time.”

Riley scoffed. “You can’t seriously be suggesting that I put that crap in my body,” he said disbelievingly.

Chase grinned. “It’s only one meal; it isn’t going to kill you.” He held out his hand, and he suddenly seemed nervous. “What do you say?”

Riley didn’t really want to go with him, because he could already feel the guilt gnawing at him for not training right now. But he also didn’t want to reject Chase and let him get the wrong idea, or make things awkward between them as a team. All the Rangers needed to be able to work well together if they really wanted to destroy this monster, Riley justified, and any misunderstandings between him and Chase certainly wouldn’t help things.

Besides, the thought of finally going on a date with Chase did sound really appealing.

“Well, I don’t think you’re going to let me stay here and practise, so…” Riley said with a laugh, sheepishly smiling at Chase as they left the cave.

 

\----

 

“I can’t believe we’re actually having our first date in McDonald’s, of all places,” Riley chuckled disbelievingly.

“Neither can I,” Chase grinned as he shoved some fries into his mouth. “But I’m more surprised about the fact that you actually agreed to it than anything else.”

Riley rolled his eyes at Chase talking with his mouth full. “Is this where you take all your dates? No wonder they never want to go out with you again.”

“Hey!” Chase protested, but he was laughing. “That was cruel, come on.”

Riley laughed too. “I’m just being honest.”

Chase winked at him. “I bet you’re glad none of those dates worked out, eh? Otherwise we wouldn’t be here together now.”

Riley threw a fry at him. “Anyway, thanks for helping me get away from training,” he said seriously. “I guess I needed a break after all.”

Chase smiled at him. “No problem. Hopefully it’s taken your mind off things a bit.”

Riley nodded, seeming thoughtful about something. “It definitely has. I’m not sure how this happened when all we’re doing is sitting in McDonald’s, but… I’m having a good time tonight, Chase.”

Chase grinned at him, reaching across the table to hold Riley’s hand in his. “Are you done with your food?”

Riley nodded, and Chase squeezed his hand.

“Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

They were on their way back to Riley’s apartment, Riley’s eyelids drooping and Chase practically holding him up, when their communicators rang. “What’s up, Kendall?” Chase asked when her face appeared on the screen.

Kendall frowned back at him. “Should I even have to tell you it’s Miss Morgan to you? And what are both of you still doing out?” She shook her head. “Anyway, the monster’s returned. It’s in the forest, and it’s a little too dark to tell but it seems like it’s turning the surrounding trees into more Vivix.” She shook her head again, trying to shake off the confusion she felt at this strange turn of events. “Apparently it thought doing so in the middle of the night would better its chances of succeeding in creating an army of Vivix, before the Rangers showed up and wrecked its plans.”

Chase looked at Riley worriedly, who was leaning on Chase for support, although he seemed much more awake now. “Do the other Rangers definitely need us there? Riley’s been practising for three days straight, he’s exhausted.”

Kendall’s eyes flicked between them unsurely. “I need you both there, I’m afraid. Koda is already on his way, but Shelby and Ivan are still half-asleep and, as you know, Tyler’s away visiting his father. I’ve even called Prince Phillip, but he’ll take a while to arrive. Koda needs as much backup as he can get.”

“I’ll be fine, Chase,” Riley insisted, before nodding to Kendall. “We’ll get there as quick as we can.”

 

\----

 

Koda was already morphed when Chase and Riley arrived.  They looked at each other decisively before hiding behind a tree and morphing, then jumping out and attacking the monster from behind.

“Chase – Riley!” Koda said gratefully as he took a quick breather, clutching his shoulder where he’d just been hit, before turning around to defend himself from a couple of Vivix emerging from the shadows. “You here!”

“Don’t worry Koda, we’ve got you,” Riley said reassuringly, before shooting at the monster with his Morpher while Chase held it still.

It didn’t take long for Shelby and Ivan to show up too, although it was still difficult trying to overpower the monster. Especially given that the monster was creating more Vivix at every given opportunity, they were struggling more and more with each passing moment.

“Man, I wish Tyler was here,” Shelby complained.

“Yeah, we could do with the backup,” Chase acknowledged.

“But he… visit father,” Koda said slowly, rushing to Ivan’s rescue where he was cornered by three Vivix.

“It would’ve been nice if his father had agreed to join the team instead of deserting Tyler again,” Ivan commented bitterly once the Vivix were out of his way.

At that moment, Prince Phillip turned up, already morphed. “Miss Morgan advised you needed my assistance,” he shouted over the din of clashing weapons and monster transformations.

The monster laughed maniacally as the Rangers struggled. “Vivix – go and attack the city!” it shouted with glee. The majority of the Vivix scampered off out of the forest – which left the Rangers with more opportunity to attack the monster itself, but they were also aware that the city was defenceless. Needless to say, this was bad.

“What are we going to do?” Shelby wailed, as the six Rangers regrouped and tried to catch their breath, watching hopelessly as the Vivix stormed off to attack innocent civilians.

“I have an idea,” Riley panted. “If we can get to the monster and destroy it… then logically all of the Vivix will turn back to trees, right?”

“That’s genius,” Chase breathed.

Riley smirked. “I have my moments.” He then got a call from Kendall and looked at his communicator, just as she said –

“Riley, I have a new Dino Charger for you! If you and Chase combine your Dino Chargers, it should be able to form an attack that will weaken the monster considerably, and then the others can finish off the job.”

Riley nodded. “Got it.” He and Chase followed Kendall’s instructions as the others kept the monster and Vivix busy, and soon enough they were ready.

“Out of the way, guys!” Chase called to the Rangers, just in time before a bright green and black beam was emitted from their combined weapon.

Finally, after a couple more attacks from the other Rangers, the monster exploded into flames, giving the Rangers a short break as they watched the monster grow.

“We really can’t catch a break tonight,” Shelby mumbled.

Chase wasn’t paying attention. “Hey – you were right,” he told Riley, looking around them. Where there had been a few Vivix still in the forest, there were now trees in their place. Chase could only assume that the same had happened across the rest of Amber Beach.

“Good thinking, Riley,” Prince Phillip commended him.

Riley smiled as he accepted the praise. “Thank you. I really feel like I need a break now, though,” he admitted.

Chase looked around at his fellow Rangers. “Do you think you can handle things from here?”

Shelby grinned. “Don’t worry, we’ve got it under control. Now that we don’t have any extra Vivix to deal with as well, this should be sorted in no time.”

Chase smiled back at her gratefully. “We’ll meet you back at the base tomorrow, once Riley’s recovered.”

With that, Chase and Riley started to make their way back to Riley’s apartment.

“That wasn’t exactly how I expected our first date to end,” Chase admitted.

Riley laughed lightly. “Me neither. I suppose we’ll just have to keep trying until our date _doesn’t_ get interrupted by a monster attack.”

Chase raised an eyebrow. “Are you asking me out on a second date, Riley?”

Riley smirked. “I guess so.”


	3. Planted In Your Heart

“Hey, have either of you seen Chase?” Shelby asked Ivan and Phillip as she entered the base. 

“No, why? Did he ask you to meet him here too?” Ivan replied. 

“Yeah,” Shelby said, slightly confused by Chase’s absence but not too surprised; it wasn’t exactly out of character for him to be late. 

“You were asked by Chase? I was ushered away from my security detail by Riley and told to meet him here,” Phillip announced, seemingly just as confused as Shelby. 

“Riley tell me to stay here… So I stay here,” Koda stuttered, sitting on the floor in the middle of the cave. 

“I don’t think he meant it that literally, Sir Koda,” Ivan advised with a smug smile. 

“Wait, so Chase and Riley want us all in one place?” Shelby asked with increasing excitement. 

“Yes…” Phillip said carefully, not quite sure where she was going with this. 

“Guys! This could be huge!” She said, clearly unable to contain her enthusiasm, “They could be announcing they’re getting married or having a baby or buying a house together or adopting a baby or –” she was cut off by her own gasp, “I could be a   _godmother_.” 

Ivan and Phillip were giving her very concerned looks at this point, although Phillip’s was turning back to confusion, “Excuse me, but are Chase and Riley dating?” he asked only to receive three looks that all seemed to say “are you kidding?” 

“Duh! Where have you been for the past two months – oh wait, yeah sorry,” Shelby replied, realising her error. 

All four rangers turned to the sound of what seemed to be a very frustrated Kendall being ushered into the base, followed by Tyler and then finally Chase and Riley. After Tyler and Kendall had joined the others, all eyes fell expectantly on Chase and Riley. 

Chase looked over at his boyfriend. Riley had been on edge all day but now more than ever he could see that this was getting to him. Whilst Riley would look perfectly fine to most people, Chase had learnt to spot the little things in Riley’s physicality; the tightness in his lips, his slightly furrowed brow, the way he was fiddling with the loose threads of his top. Yeah, Riley was nervous. 

Lightly putting his hand on Riley’s shoulder, Chase’s eyes met with Riley’s as he softly said, “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” 

Riley knew it was true; Chase wouldn’t force him to do anything he was uncomfortable with. But he also knew that lying like this was making Chase feel just as uncomfortable. He looked over at his friends who had started talking amongst themselves. Somehow, in the space of little over a year, he’d come to love this group of misfits as much as he did his own family. They deserved to know about this. 

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he replied to Chase, “No, it has to be today. We said after a month we’d tell them,” and starting walking towards the group. 

“Good,” Chase said quietly as he followed Riley, “cos I don’t want to have to make up another excuse why we’ve gathered everyone here again.” 

“For someone who likes to ‘adapt to the situation’ so much, you really have a hard time with improvisation,” Riley joked. 

“Hey,” Chase started defensively whilst still trying to keep his voice low, “It wasn’t that bad.” 

“You announced that you’re goldfish had died and asked everyone to wear black while your mourned.” 

“Exactly. The things I do for you…” Chase said, giving Riley a smug smile as he trailed off. 

The light-hearted conversation had calmed Riley down, but only slightly. Taking a deep breath, he looked around at his friends who were now stood around the main monitor. 

“So,” Chase began, rubbing his hands together, “you’re probably wondering why we asked you to come here today –” 

“Chase,” Kendall interrupted, “we’re really sorry if this is another one of your fish, but we have left the café in the hands of a single waitress so –” 

“This isn’t about a fish,” Chase said, interrupting her in return, “It’s about –” 

“Chase and I are dating,” Riley spat, completely deadpan; no facial expression, no emotion, just those words. 

There was a pause, and then chaos. 

“You took us away from work for that!” 

“We thought this was an emergency!” 

“You dragged me from my duties for this! I’m a prince!” 

“I’m never going to be a godmother!” 

“Do you really believe that we were oblivious to your courting?!” 

“I really did not have time for this today!” 

“How could you guys do this to me?!” 

“How blind do you think we are?!” 

Chase and Riley just stood there in shock as their teammates all shouted over each other. 

“You guys all knew?” Riley asked. 

“Yes!” They all replied simultaneously. 

“Really?” Chase probed. 

“Yes!” They said, increasingly frustrated. 

“Even Phillip?” Riley questioned. 

“Of course!” he replied whilst straightening his tie, hiding the fact that he had only just found out. 

“Oh,” Riley said, deflated. 

“How could we not noticed? You hang out all the time,” Tyler said with a laughed. 

“Yeah, and you have the most pointless excuses for doing it,” Shelby added. 

“Riley, you literally came into the base once just to ask Chase if he wanted to go for a coffee and then left,” Kendall said with one eyebrow raised. 

The couple stood there, still completely stunned. 

“Err… sorry about that… you can all get back to whatever it is you were doing,” Riley mumbled slowly, staring at the ground. 

Kendall came up to the pair of them and put her hand on Riley’s arm.  “Hey,” she began, “we’re all really happy for you –”

“But it was just really obvious so…” Tyler interrupted. 

“So we’re really glad that you told us,” Kendall finished, smiling at both of them, “but I do have to get back to work,” she announced, her body tensing as she thought of the single waitress manning the café. She briskly left the base and was followed shortly by others, congratulating the couple as they went past; even Shelby, who seemed to have overcome her earlier breakdown, largely due to some much wanted attention from Tyler. 

Exhausted from their rollercoaster of emotions, Chase and Riley flopped onto the couch in the base. 

“Well, that was…” Chase began. 

“Unexpected?” Riley finished. 

“Yeah, definitely unexpected.” Chase said wearily. 

They went quiet from a moment before it clicked in Riley’s head, “What are we talking about?! That was amazing! That really couldn’t have gone much better,” he said with laugh. 

“Honestly, I dunno why you were worried in the first place,” Chase chuckled. 

“Hey,” Riley said, lightly punching Chase’s arm before leaning his head against it, “This was big for me,” he paused, “for us.” 

Chase turned to face him as the younger ranger’s cheeks began to turn red. He was about to make a witty comment at Riley’s expense, but he just found himself staring at the man he’d come to call his boyfriend. Even though today had been a rollercoaster of emotions, there was no one else Chase would rather be riding said rollercoaster with than him. Chase smiled gently when Riley caught him staring, and they both leaned in closer – 

“Can I go now?” 

Both rangers sprang to opposite sides of the sofa in shock, sharply turning their heads to see Koda contently sitting in the same spot Riley had found him in an hour ago. 

“I getting hungry,” the caveman continued, his stomach growling to emphasise this point. 

Recomposing himself, Chase asked, “Why are you still here?” 

Koda frowned, “Riley tell me to ‘wait here’,” he responded, emphasising the last two words. 

“I meant just while we –” Riley began before being cut off by Chase. 

“Yeah, mate,” he said with a small laugh, “You can go.” 

After Koda had rushed out the base, ready to drain the café of all its Bronto Burgers, Chase turned to Riley and cupped his cheek. 

“Now,” he began, “where were we?” 

Riley rolled his eyes at the cheesy line, despite the fact that he should be used to them by now, and wrapped his arm around Chase’s back, the events of today quickly drifting out of his mind. Except for one thing. 

“Did Shelby say she wanted to be a godmother?” he asked, putting his hand on Chase’s lips. Playing the scene over in his head, that was one of lines he had somehow ignored in the chaos that was the team’s reaction. 

“Yeah…” Chase responded slowly, concern spreading across his face. 

“We really need to talk to her about that,” Riley said hesitantly, his eyes wide and staring off into space. He shook the thought away and got up off the sofa, extending a hand to help Chase. 

“We really should,” Chase started, grabbing Riley’s hand before yanking him back down onto the sofa so the green ranger was now lying on top off him, “But first,” he pulled Riley’s head down, their lips finally meeting. 

The kiss had barely lasted two seconds before an alarm sounded. 

Reluctantly pulling away from Chase, Riley exclaimed, “Seriously? A monster attack now?” 

He was corrected when a holographic image of Kendall appeared at the centre monitor and spoke, “This is an automated message set to play if rule 137 of the Dino Base is broken.” 

Riley was scanning through his brain desperately trying to remember which rule this was. Day 1 Kendall had emailed them all a list of rules they had to follow whilst working both as rangers and as museum staff. Most of them had been obvious things that he had assumed were there to stop Koda or, more likely, Chase from doing anything stupid so he had stopped reading after rule 93. 

“Under the rules and regulations regarding any and all work carried out in the Amber Beach Dinosaur Museum, it is against company policy for a member or members of staff to partake in public displays of affection whilst on the premises,” the hologram continued as the couple recovered from the initial shock, “This is just a warning.” 

“See, she’s not going to do anything,” Chase said, tugging on Riley’s top, “She’s just hologram.” 

“However,” holographic Kendall continued, “should the action continue or repeat itself, a video chat will automatically start with the participants’ parents, despite the awkward atmosphere this will create.” 

So Kendall does have sense of humour, if only a twisted one, Riley thought. 

Despite having been looking straight in front of her the whole time, the hologram of Kendall turned her head to face the couple and said, “The choice is yours.” 

Quickly grabbing his boyfriend’s hand, Chase announced they were leaving, receiving no resistance from Riley. Upon making it out of the base, the tension that had been building up inside Chase suddenly resolved into hysterical laughing. 

“What?” Riley asked in confusion. 

Barely able to talk through his laughter, Chase responded, “It’s just that we ran out of our secret superhero base to get way from a holographic projection of our boss who was threatening to call our parents.” 

A smile was pulling at the sides of Riley’s frown until it finally gave way and he started laughing too. “Well no one said being a superhero was easy. C’mon,” he said, taking Chase’s hand in his, “let’s go get lunch.” 

Riley looked over at Chase, only to find a mischievous look that he knew all too well was spreading across his face. 

“Hot dogs,” Riley said just as Chase said, “Doughnuts.” 

Riley laughed to himself, “Whatever am I going to do with you, Chase Randall.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! All comments (including constructive criticism) are welcome :) Gotta get better somehow


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